


Playing Games With You

by crimsontheory



Series: Study Buddies [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Libraries, M/M, Study Group, Studying, idk what to tag this as fdjafdsj
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:40:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25098550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsontheory/pseuds/crimsontheory
Summary: Louis thought signing up for a study group would help him focus on his final exams, not reignite a flame that he didn't even know was there with a former classmate.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Series: Study Buddies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817770
Comments: 16
Kudos: 105
Collections: Prompt 1.4: Extract





	Playing Games With You

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is my third year of doing wordplay and I'm really excited! I love wordplay, it's challenging and a little stressful, but a lot of fun and I'm so happy I could participate again this year. Shoutout to Sus for running it!
> 
> This is something that I've been meaning to write for a while now, I just, uh, never did. Because, well, let's be honest, I'm fucking lazy and the queen of procrastination. Basically, if I don't have a deadline for a fic, I'll never write it asdfdklsa. So, I thought wordplay might be a fun way to write this one.
> 
> Essentially, this is going to be a chaptered fic so it should be read as such starting with this as the first chapter. So, if you read this and feel like nothing happened, it's because it's just setting up the story as a normal first chapter would. If I can get all the wordplay words to work for me there should be five ‘chapters’ total since there are five weeks of wordplay.
> 
> This is un-beta'd so apologies for any mistakes!
> 
> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "extract". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/extract), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1-3), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/622306139518926848/wordplay-2020-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).
> 
> Title for this, as well as all the other 'chapters', is taken from Real by Years & Years.

“Remember, this will be on the exam next month so I hope you were paying attention,” the professor yelled over the sound of the students packing away their books. “And please read section four of chapter ten for class on Wednesday. We will be discussing it!”

Louis placed his pen in his mouth, using his teeth to tug off the cap, holding it between them as he scribbled down the reading assignment in his notebook. That was something he could work on while in his study group today. When he saw the poster advertising the study group pinned up on one of the announcements boards in one of the science buildings, he knew he wanted to take advantage of it. It was only for people in the science programs so you could meet others who were also studying the same thing as you and to get help with your studies if needed.

It wasn’t like Louis ever had a problem focusing on his studies because he _enjoyed_ what he studied, but it would be nice to maybe make some new friends with people also in the program. The first meeting of the study group was today and it met every other day excluding the weekend until exams week. Louis was quite looking forward to it.

He closed his notebook then shoved it into his backpack alongside his textbook, double-checked he had packed everything away and then zipped up, throwing one strap of his backpack over his shoulder. He waved goodbye to one of his classmates that was still straggling behind as he walked out of the room. 

The hallway was fairly empty seeing as Louis was one of the last people to leave, so he was able to quickly make his way to the double doors leading outside. It was just starting to get warmer outside, England finally getting the memo that it was about to be summer, but Louis still wore his zip-up hoodie. You’d have to pry his hoodies from his cold, dead hands. He unzipped it about halfway to allow the breeze to flow through it.

The library where the study group was meeting was on the complete opposite side of the campus from where Louis just had his class. There was still about twenty minutes until the study group was set to start, so he had plenty of time to make it and maybe even stop for a tea in the coffee shop on the ground floor of the library.

It was just past midday, and due to the nice weather, the campus was quite busy. People walked to and from buildings to get to their classes, some spread out in the grass reading or studying, and there was even a group of boys kicking about a football on the quad. Any other time Louis would have loved to join in, but he, unfortunately, had somewhere else to be.

Walking into the coffee shop with ten minutes to spare, Louis took his place at the end of the queue. He looked up at the menu, reading over the different options even though he already knew what he was going to order. He always got the same thing. Once it was his turn, he stepped up to the counter and ordered his tea as well as a muffin because he hadn’t eaten yet today and was feeling quite peckish. He stepped aside after placing his order to wait in the pickup area.

“Louis?”

Something pricked in the back of his head when he heard that voice. Louis _knew_ he knew who that voice belonged to but he couldn’t quite place them. It wasn’t until he turned around and saw a pair of green eyes, a dimpled smile, and unruly curls held back by a little black hair clip that it all clicked into place. _Harry_. 

“Harry hey,” Louis greeted, stepping a bit closer to the queue where Harry was standing. “You alright?” 

During Louis’ first year of uni he decided to opt out of a prerequisite English course, so, unfortunately, had to take it his second year. He was dreading being in a class full of first years while he was a second year until he slid into the classroom five minutes late on the first day and the only open seat left was next to Harry. 

That professor was one that required a seating chart so those seats were the same ones that sat in for the entire semester. Louis quite enjoyed that class which was saying something since he bloody hated English, but it was more of a project-based, hands-on approach instead of ‘bullshitting your way through a one thousand word essay about how the colour orange makes you feel’ approach. There were a lot of group projects and since your assigned partner for each project was the person you shared your table with, he and Harry spent a lot of time together.

They became fast friends, would hang out outside of class even when they were assigned a project, and at the time, Louis would have definitely considered Harry one of his best friends. Once the course ended, they, of course, stayed in touch, texted constantly, hung out whenever they could, but unfortunately, the demand of other classes, exams, and general university life made them both incredibly busy and they fell out of contact.

The easy banter between them was one of the reasons why Louis enjoyed Harry’s company so much. Louis had never met someone who could keep up with him as easily as Harry could and that was a good reason to keep someone around in Louis’ book. Yet, Louis’ two best mates were some of the slowest people he had ever met—in the most loving way of course—and any of Louis’ jokes just went right over their heads but he’d been friends with them for _years_ , so Louis’ book didn’t mean shit apparently. 

On the random chance he would ever bump into Harry on campus they would catch up for a few minutes, but that was the extent of their friendship. And it had been months since he last saw Harry.

Just as Harry stepped up to the counter to give his order, another barista called out Louis’ name and he collected his tea and muffin. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good,” Harry replied, nodding as he moved out of the queue. Louis couldn’t help but notice the deep dimple carved into Harry’s left cheek. “How are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the library before.” 

Louis could count the number of times he had been in the library all four years he had been going to this university on one hand. It was either to go to this coffee shop because they had the best tea on campus when he was too lazy to make it himself at home or when one of his classes required them to meet here. Otherwise, he avoided the library at all costs. It gave him the creeps. Ghosts definitely lived here. Louis didn’t fuck with ghosts. “Yeah, I don’t come here often. I’m here today for a study group that meets in—” he glanced to the clock that was on the far wall of the cafe “—shit, five minutes.”

“Oh,” Harry perked up. “Are you going to the science study group? Me too.” How did Louis not know that Harry was also studying science? And how did they not bump into each other more often in the science buildings? He watched Harry pick up his order when his name was called with a thank you and a couple of pounds dropped into the tip jar. “Would you, um. Would you want to sit together?”

Harry asked it almost shyly, top teeth sunken into his bottom lip and eyes downcast, like the two of them didn’t spend an entire semester practically in each other’s laps with how often they were together. 

“Yeah, Harold,” Louis said, easily slipping out the nickname he used to call Harry. Admittedly, it wasn’t the best nickname in the world, but it was always fun to watch Harry pout with a flush across his cheeks saying ‘that’s not my name’ the first few times Louis used it. Harry’s reaction now was the complete opposite; his demeanour brightened, a beaming smile spreading across his face. “Let’s sit together.”

Since the study group was meeting on the fourth floor, they decided to be lazy and take the lift instead of the stairs. Once they were inside and the lift started to move, Louis realized what a terrible decision that was. The library already had an awful vibe to it, in Louis’ eyes anyway, but this lift was definitely the worst part of it. First of all, the doors didn’t even close all the way which had to be some sort of safety violation, so he could clearly see the elevator shaft—Louis was still a twelve year old apparently and he couldn’t even think that word without giggling—and all the wires and things in there as they moved past it. 

And the whole thing _moved_ , shook back and forth like a damn rollercoaster or something and it made Louis feel incredibly uneasy. He clung to the handrail on the side of the lift like his life depended on it. When it finally made it to the fourth floor, the lift stopped with a sudden jolt like it was a last minute decision and then quickly dropped at least half a meter before the doors slid open. Louis immediately jumped out like the lift was on fire and took as many steps away as possible. He turned around to see Harry following after him without a care in the world like they didn’t just go through the scariest experience of their lives. 

Thankfully, signs were pointing them in the direction of where the study group was meeting and they followed them through the main area with the study desks and computers. Eventually, they came to the end of the room and turned the corner into another room and were immediately met with a bookcase. Which made sense because they were in a library after all. They rounded the bookcase and on the other side was a cluster of tables and a poster board pinned to the wall proclaiming this was where they were meant to be. 

The student advisor running the study group welcomed them with a smile and wave and quietly told them to take a seat wherever. Even after arriving a few minutes late, there were still quite a few empty seats and they were able to snag two that were next to each other.

They both settled in easily, spreading out their textbooks and notes across the table. Louis placed his tea a little off to the side so he wouldn't accidentally knock it over as he was writing and pulled his muffin out of the paper baggie it was in, ripping off a piece and popping it into his mouth. 

Libraries were supposed to be quiet right like that was the whole point. To allow people to read, or to study, or to focus on whatever it is they were in the library for. And technically, it _was_ quiet, no people were talking, no loud music, or anything like that, but the fact that it was so quiet just amplified every other little sound.

Louis was trying to read his textbook but literally all he could hear was the turning of pages in a book, the scribbling of pencils against paper, the tapping of fingers over a keyboard, the shuffling of feet across the carpeted floor. He was seconds away from ripping his hair out. He was pretty sure that the fluorescent lights overheard were buzzing even louder just to taunt him. He couldn't catch a break.

To make matters even worse, the bloke sitting across the table from him had brought along a bag of crisps with him. And it wasn’t just the regular individual-sized bag of crisps, oh no. It was the jumbo family-sized bag. They were barbecue flavoured as well, an absolute crime of a flavour. How thick did this guy have to be to think that bringing the loudest food on the planet into the library was okay? Louis had to ball his hands up into fists to prevent himself from ripping the bag out of his hands and chucking it across the room. 

Turning his attention back to his textbook, Louis _tried_ to focus. Protein extraction. He knew this shit, had known it for a long time. This was mainly just a refresher for him, yet none of the words he was reading managed to absorb into his brain. It was like each word was going in one ear and out the other. Or well, in one eye and out the other in this case. He was even trying to take notes as he read which was what he usually did. If he physically wrote things out, it made it easier for him to remember, but so far all he had on his notebook page was the title of the chapter section.

He jolted when he felt something brush against his hand and he glanced over and saw Harry’s hand laying over the top of Louis’ fist. A fluttery feeling started up in his belly and his palms started to sweat when at first he thought Harry was trying to _hold his hand_ , but then he realized Harry was holding a folded up piece of paper and was trying to shove it into Louis’ fist. 

Louis unclenched his fist and took the paper from Harry. He unfolded it on top of his textbook and spread it out with his hands to smooth out the creases. All that was written on the paper was _you okay?_ in black ink with a little flower drawn next to it in red ink. Louis sighed. He guessed he wasn’t hiding how tense he was feeling as easily as he thought he was.

He turned toward Harry who was looking at him with obvious concern in his eyes and Louis tried to give him what he hoped was a smile and not some sort of weird grimace. Harry smiled back so he assumed it came out okay. He picked up his pen and wrote _all good_ with a smiley, folded it back up, and passed it over to Harry. He knew he shouldn’t have lied, but he also knew that Harry should be focusing on his studies and _not_ on how Louis wasn’t able to focus.

He watched as Harry unfolded the note and frowned down at what Louis had written. It definitely seemed like Harry didn't believe him at all. He quickly looked down at his textbook and pretended like he was working. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Harry was looking at him, but he just kept reading the same sentence over and over until Harry gave up and turned away.

When it was what felt like way past the two hours they were allotted for their study group, the student advisor in charge stood up and quietly spoke to the group telling them it was time to clear out for the next group that was meeting here and she’d see them at the same time and the same place on Wednesday. Louis quickly started packing his things away, more than ready to get out of here. He finished his muffin almost as soon as he sat down, but he still had about half of his tea left which had definitely gone cold by now. He picked it up and took a sip and, yeah, ice cold, he was gonna need to chuck that away in the first bin he could find.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and weaved his way through the tables and the others who were still packing up. He had almost made it to the exit of the room they were in when he heard Harry whisper-shouting from behind him and he stopped in his tracks.

“Louis, hey, wait up.” Regret instantly washed over Louis because he had completely forgotten that Harry was even there. He was so intent on getting back to his flat as fast as possible and jumping face first into his bed and taking a nap. He turned around and saw Harry awkwardly jogging to catch up with him. “How did it go? Did you get much work done?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Louis replied as they continued to walk out together. “I read the whole chapter section I needed to for my class on Wednesday.” Which technically _wasn’t_ a lie, he _did_ read it, he just didn’t remember a single fucking word that he read. He deliberately led Harry towards the stairs because he was not going through that terrifying lift experience again thank you very much.

“That’s great!” Harry said, far too enthusiastically in Louis’ opinion. “I got quite a lot of note taking done, so I’m feeling pretty good. I’m excited to come back on Wednesday. I think this group is really going to help me.”

Louis didn’t say anything in response to that because what he was feeling was the exact opposite of excitement. They walked together in silence until they made it outside and Harry stopped, loitering at the top of the steps like he wasn’t ready to leave yet. “So, it was nice to see you again, it’s been a while,” Harry said, suddenly very interested in his shoes. “I guess I’ll see you again on Wednesday?” He finally looked up at Louis with shy expectancy.

Even though they didn’t see each other as much as they used to, whenever they _did_ happen to see each other, they were able to catch up as if no time had passed. Although today Harry seemed to be a bit shyer than Louis ever remembered him being, but otherwise everything felt like it used to. Spending time with Harry today, even if they were just sitting next to each other in a quiet library, was nice and it almost felt like they were back in their English class two years ago. Louis did miss him, missed having him in his life as much as he used to be and it would be nice to get back to the friendship they used to have.

“Yeah, I guess you will,” Louis said, dread settling in his stomach at having to lie to Harry. If they were going to try and get as close as they once used to be, it would have to be through some other way than this study group.

As they said their goodbyes and went off in opposite directions, there was one thing Louis knew for certain. There was no way in hell that he was coming back on Wednesday.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ireallysawanangel](http://ireallysawanangel.tumblr.com) on tumblr, so come say hi!  
> [Here's](https://ireallysawanangel.tumblr.com/post/622908212389232640) a tumblr post you can reblog if you'd like!


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